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Hell Is Other Robots
"Hell Is Other Robots" is the ninth episode of production, Season One, and the season finale of broadcast Season One of Futurama. It originally aired in North America on May 16, 1999. The episode guest stars Adam Horovitz and Mike D as themselves, and Dan Castellaneta, famous for his role as Homer Simpson on The Simpsons, another show Matt Groening created; Castellaneta plays the Robot Devil. The episode explores the various degrees to which humanity tends to regard "religion" by following Bender, a robot. The episode was featured in the Monster Robot Maniac Fun Collection DVD box set and received positive reviews by critics. Plot The story begins with Bender, Fry and Leela at a Beastie Boys' heads concert, where they are invited backstage afterwards by an old acquaintance of Bender's, Fender. While meeting the Beastie Boys, Bender and Fender ditch the "organ sacks" and Bender is introduced to "jacking-on", the dangerous abuse of electricity. Soon Bender's dabbling becomes a full-blown addiction to electricity and he resorts to desperate measures to get his fixes (such as forcing the Planet Express Ship to fly through an electrical storm). After hitting rock bottom, Bender realizes he has a problem and turns to religion for help: joining the Temple of Robotology. He is then baptized in oil and has Robotology's symbol welded onto his chest by Reverend Lionel Preacherbot. While the rest of the Planet Express crew is initially happy that Bender has given up his addiction, they quickly find the new Bender tiresome and try to bring out their friend's old personality by taking him to Atlantic City and reintroducing him to vice. They succeed in bringing the old Bender back but are unaware that the contract of Robotology stipulates that if Bender sins, he is sent to Robot Hell for all eternity. Soon the Robot Devil abducts him as he seduces several fembots. As Fry and Leela track Bender to The Inferno ride at Reckless Ted's Funland, using Nibbler as a bloodhound, Bender is shown around Robot Hell by the Robot Devil in the form of a song. Eventually, Fry and Leela use the Fairness in Hell Act of 2275 to challenge the Robot Devil to a fiddle contest for Bender's soul and a solid gold fiddle. If they lose, they get a small silver fiddle and the Robot Devil gets to kill Fry. While they are unable to best the devil in musical skill, Leela beats the Devil with the solid gold fiddle and the trio flee Robot Hell with a pair of stolen robotic wings. The Robot Devil attempts to stop them by closing the ceiling gates. Luckily, the trio are able to escape by dropping the gold violin Leela was carrying, which was adding weight to their ascent. Once they are out of Robot Hell, Bender promises to be just evil/good enough. Trivia *The Golden Fiddle may, in fact, be a reference to The Charlie Daniels Band's "The Devil went down to Georgia", where a young boy faces off against the Devil in a fiddle battle, eventually winning the Golden Fiddle from him and banishing him back to Hell. *In the scene where Fry and Leela are in the abandoned theme park (Reckless Ted's Funland) and enter the ride The Inferno on one of the walls there are 2 sets of initials in a love heart (H.S. + M.B.) at around 16:49. This is a reference to Matt Groening's other hit TV show The Simpsons' main characters Homer Simpson and Marge Bouvier. See also *Religion in Futurama *Robot Hell (song) Category:Episodes Category:Season 1 Category:Bender Episodes Category:Last Of Season Episodes Category:Robot Devil Episodes